Legend of Korra: Sparks
by AlphaRush
Summary: This story follows my OC and the characters Mako, Korra, Bolin, and Asami as they battle Amon and the Equalists. During they're time in Republic City there will be action, pain, love, and betrayal. New friendships will blossom as the characters are drawn closer together by their hardships.
1. Chapter 1

I had waited a year for this moment. The moment where I could finally walk into Republic City's Pro-bending Arena and watch a match. But not just any match, the Championship match.

About a year ago, I really got sucked into the world of pro-bending. In the evening, after walking home from a long day at work, I would often pass by shops and apartments with radios in their open windows blasting the pro-bending matches. After weeks of catching parts of matches I became curious of what this sport was all about. Ideally, I'd find a building next to an alleyway that had the match on and sit myself down on the cold cement in the darkness of the back alley. I'd listen to the live commentary of the game until it was over then grab some dinner and head on home.

After listening to last year's Championship match, the sport really grabbed me and captivated me. I fell in love with the game and promised myself that I would be at the following year's Championship match. Ever since last year's Championship match, I have never missed a game on the radio. On game nights, I snuck out of work early so that I could find a place that was airing the game on their radio. Of course, this isn't always as easy as it sounds so I did miss the start of some games.

But here I am now, in the Pro-bending Arena. It wasn't simple to get the tickets to this match either. I had to buy them three months in advance and even then they were almost all sold out. Also, I had to sacrifice two months' worth of dinner to even afford the tickets.

I'm seventeen years old and I've spent almost half of my life as an orphan living on the streets. For nine years, my mother and I lived in a very small one bedroom apartment with a kitchen and bathroom in the Dragon Flats borough of Republic City. My mother worked long hours at the Republic City power plant and earned a decent pay. She was a firebender that could generate lightning, so she worked in the bowels of the plant creating lightning all day long to help power the city. Unfortunately, three-fourths of her months wage went to paying the rent on our apartment. What was left of her wage went to paying for the electricity and water utility bill. After all the bills were paid for, we had almost no money to spend on food for ourselves. The Triple Threat Triad also had a big presence in our neighborhood and would sometimes rob my mother of her money, making it even more difficult for her to pay the bills. We often went for days without food and I would always complain about how hungry I was and when my next meal would be. When we did have food, my mother let me eat my fill and then when I was done she would eat what was left.

I was always a curious child and my mother would always say that curiosity killed the cat. I was always asking her questions and always talked about the outside world. And when I say the outside world, I mean the world right outside our cloudy apartment window. I didn't go to school because my mother couldn't afford it so I spent six out of seven days a week cooped up inside our stuffy apartment. On Sundays my mother would take me out for a walk but only for a short amount of time. The Triple Threats were always roaming the streets looking for their next victim so we never walked for more than a half hour. On Sundays my mother would also teach me how to read and write. I was a pretty bright kid so I picked up everything pretty quickly. Like my mother, I was a firebender. She tried to teach me the basics of firebending but I had a hard time learning everything. It was difficult for me to learn the forms and I always failed them, but she never gave up on me. Also, on Sunday nights before going to bed, she would always tell me stories of my father.

My father was a mixed breed like myself. His father was an earthbender and his mother was a waterbender. He inherited his mother's waterbending skills but inherited his father's fierce, emerald green Earth Kingdom eyes. He stood out from the rest of the waterbenders in the North Pole because of his unique eyes. He left the North Pole when he was twenty and came to Republic City looking for a more interesting life than the one that had been laid out for him in the Artic. After only a few weeks of living in Republic City, he met my mother who was only nineteen at the time and was working as a waitress in her parents' Fire Nation cuisine restaurant. They instantly fell for each other and dated for two years. They were inseparable and did everything with each other. My mother had told me that one night their love for each other became so passionate that she became pregnant with me. She had told my father the good news and he had cried tears of joy. He had taken my mother to the doctor for monthly checkups and when the doctor told them that I was going to be a girl, he cried once again saying that he had always wanted a daughter. When my mother was two months into her pregnancy she told her parents that she was having a baby. Instead of rejoicing that their daughter was starting a family and that they were going to be grandparents, they were disgraced and cursed her name for becoming pregnant without being married. They kicked her out of the house and no matter how many times she tried to return they threw her out and refused to talk to her. My mother went to go live with my father in his small apartment (which is the same apartment I grew up in with my mother) for four months. One day my mother woke up and found a note on the kitchen counter from my father. It read, _I'm sorry for leaving but I'm just not ready for this yet. _My mother fell to her knees and sobbed for days. She thought, _what wasn't he ready for? A family? A marriage? Responsibilities? _She never heard from him again yet she never stopped loving him. She forgives him for leaving but was distraught by the fact her youth was stolen from her so soon and that she was alone. The burden of raising a child as a single parent proved to be much too great since we lived impoverished lives.

My mother's impoverished life was her downfall. A week after my mother's thirty-first birthday, she fell horribly ill. She couldn't go to work and we couldn't afford a doctor to treat her. Her coughing fits got worse and worse, her fever elevated and she found it harder and harder to breathe. On her deathbed, she told me that she loved me and she told me to never do anything that would make people lose respect for me. I think about these words every day and in every decision I make. When my mother took her final breath I ran to try and find a doctor. Luckily, I found one that lived on the floor of our apartment. He looked over her dead body and said that her fever got so high that her body lost all control of maintaining a correct body temperature. She died because her core body temperature reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sensing that I could not afford a proper funeral and burial, the doctor grabbed a shovel and my mother's body and told me to follow him. It was about an hour walk to a clearing surrounded by trees outside of Republic City. The doctor asked me where I wanted the body and I pointed to the tallest tree. He walked to the foot of the tree and started digging my mother a grave. When he was finished he gently lowered my mother's cold body into the ground and began throwing the earth in back over her. The doctor broke his shovel in half and stuck the handle in the ground like a stake to mark my mother's grave. He collected rocks and made a pile of them around the stake. It began to thunder and the rain came down hard. The doctor bid his farewell and left me alone with my mother's grave. Only then did it hit me that I was now alone. I lifted my face toward the sky and began to cry. The rain and my tears washed down my face and soaked through my clothes to my skin. I screamed in anguish but even I could not hear my screams over the roar of the thunder.

Two weeks after my mother's death the landlord came looking for his payment on the apartment. I told him that I had no money to give him and he kicked me out on the street in a heartbeat. It was hard to find food and my meals almost always came from a dumpster or garbage can. I didn't know where to sleep and I didn't know where to call home. My first night on the streets I found a nice tree with low branches in a secluded part of Republic City Park. I climbed the tree and slept on the lowest branch in case I were to fall out of the tree while sleeping. That tree became my home for the next eight years. And little did I know that I would fit right in at night because about a fourth of Republic City's homeless population slept in the park every night.

When I was fifteen I landed my first job and my current job. I had tried hundreds of times to get a job before that but I was always denied because I was too young. I found a job working at a pet store downtown. I work five to six days a week and get paid twelve yuans a week. All of this money is spent solely on food since forty-eight yuans can't even buy you the worst apartment in the city. I usually eat six meals a week, spending about two yuans per meal. That's enough to buy you about one piece of fruit or one meat skewer. Of course, ever since I decided that I was going to go to the pro-bending championship match I had been saving up money skipping fifty meals over the course of seven months. It wasn't easy to go without that many meals but I saved up the 100 yuans needed to buy the ticket.


	2. Chapter 2

I arrived at the arena two hours before the start of the match. I showed my ticket to the ticket collector and was allowed to enter through the main entrance of the arena. I thought to myself, _wow! This place is huge! It's absolutely everything I thought it would be and more!_ I took my time walking to my seat. I wanted to take in every bit of the arena from top to bottom. Before getting to my seat I had to pass through two security check points. They checked me from head to toe and allowed me to continue to my seat. Amon, leader of the Equalists, made a broadcast warning the city council to cancel the pro-bending championships or else. My heart almost broke when I heard this news but luckily Chief Beifong stepped in and said she would provide extra security at the match if it ran. There were security guards everywhere. They seemed on edge, as if they knew an Equalist attack was inevitable.

I looked around the arena. It was only me and about a hundred other people who had decided to arrive this early. Everyone who was there was dressed so nicely and I wondered if my outfit made the cut. It appeared to me that these people must be the wealth of the city. I wore what I always wore which was my mother's formfitting, sleeveless, deep crimson shirt with long, angular coattails and black leggings. I wore her black boots along with her decorative gold armband and tied back my hair into a ponytail with her long crimson ribbon. My outfit wasn't that of a peasant but it wasn't of the wealthy either. It was somewhere in the middle but it was traditional Fire Nation attire.

The crowd got bigger and bigger as the time approached game start. I was in the nose bleed section and even the seats around me were filling up fast. I was getting more and more excited and I was ecstatic that my favorite team had made it to the championships. The Fire Ferrets were the team I had been rooting for all season and tonight they were facing the Wolfbats. There was just something about the Fire Ferrets that drew me in to liking them. Was it that they had the avatar on their team or perhaps it was the bending brothers or maybe it's the fact that they were the underdogs all season? Either way they had made it this far and that was a bonus for me.

Soon the lights over the stands darkened and the announcer came on. "Introducing the White Falls Wolfbats and Future Industries Fire Ferrets!" screamed the announcer. With that, the bell dinged and the match started!

I couldn't believe what I was watching! The Fire Ferrets were trying their hardest and fighting with all their power but they just couldn't overpower the cheating Wolfbats. The Wolfbats had clearly paid off the refs because they were calling nothing against them. They were freezing the Fire Ferrets in place and putting earth in their water attacks. There was nothing the Fire Ferrets could do and I couldn't help but get furious! I didn't save up all this money to watch a match where the outcome was already decided by some political payoffs. I just focused on watching the Fire Ferrets. Even though they were getting hammered they still fought beautifully. Korra, the avatar, dodged attacks left and right and her waterbending technique looked flawless. Then I looked at Bolin the earthbender. I really looked at his face and something about him seemed strangely familiar. His earthbending was solid and he had great power behind his attacks. He was well-built and very muscular and threw his attacks with ease. His older brother Mako was the firebender of the team. His firebending was beautiful. _Maybe he can teach me firebending, _I thought. He made firebending look effortless and stunning. Mako spun around to dodge an attack and I got a good look at his face. Then it hit me! Mako and Bolin were orphans living on the street at the same time I was.

Mako is a year older then me and Bolin is a year younger than me. When I was living on the streets I saw them almost every day pulling tricks and scams in order to get money. I envied them because they actually had money but I knew what they were doing was wrong and never did it myself. When they got older they started working with the Triple Threats which earned them a lot of money but scared me a bit. I ran into the Triple Threats more frequently than I would have liked, but always somehow managed to escape with only minor injuries due to my basic firebending skills. I never knew their names while I lived on the street and they didn't know mine either. Homeless people always knew what other homeless people were up to and how they lived. I'm sure Mako and Bolin knew how I lived and pitied me since they lived pretty good lives for homeless people. But seeing Mako and Bolin now as famous pro-benders makes me almost proud of them I suppose. They really changed their lives around. I hope fate will be as kind to me as it was for them.

"One, two, three, hit! The avatar, Bolin and Mako have been thrown off the platform and into the water! This year's pro-bending champions are the Wolfbats!" cheered the announcer. I was so disappointment but had little time to relish in my frustration because out of the corner of my eye I saw the man next to me put on a mask and put on a metallic, robotic looking glove. My eyes widened with fear and I jolted when Amon crashed through the glass dome and onto the bending battle field. I looked around and wondered why the guards weren't doing anything about him, but all the guards had been stunned and were on the floor. _Amon meant business when he said we would pay for having the championship match,_ I thought. I watched in terror as Amon stripped the Wolfbats of their bending. I looked at the Equalist next to me and made eye contact with him. "Are you looking for trouble girlie?" he threatened. "N-No. Of course not!" I defended. "Then sit still and don't move a muscle!" he bellowed. I did as he said but second guessed myself. The avatar chased Amon and Mako, Bolin, Beifong and about ten or so other benders from the crowd were helping to fight and bring down the Equalists.

I ran the scenario through my head. _I'll almost definitely be captured by the Equalists and have my bending taken away but in the process I can help other benders and innocent people here escape. But I'm not sure if I want to take that chance and lose my bending. My firebending is all that I have left in life. It keeps me warm at night, it entertains me when I'm bored and it protects me when I'm in trouble._ _Protects me when I'm in trouble! Am I in trouble right now? I'm sure if I just stay here and remain calm and don't do anything rash I'll be fine. But other people are in trouble. Mako, Bolin… they're in trouble! They need help! How can I be a bystander when people are in need? I've been a bystander to crime my entire life, but it's time to change that!_

I stood up and threw a punch at the Equalist next to me before he could even react. He was blown back by my fire blast into a group of Wolfbat fans. I jumped down several rows until I got to the first row. An Equalist was running at me and I panicked. I jumped up and spun around kicking out a glorious orange flame. The Equalist was fast and quickly dodged under the hot flames. The Equalist kept coming at me and I kept taking steps back while throwing flaming punches. The flames warmed my knuckles and gave me a sense of comfort. No matter how many punches I threw, the Equalist dodged them all. The Equalist was about to electrocute me when I took a step onto the railing and used all my power to push off and jump over the water far below. I blew fire out my fists to propel myself up. It gave me just enough boost to get me over the water and onto the bending platform.

On the platform, Mako was busy fighting five Equalists while Bolin had just been knocked off the platform and into the water. I landed behind one of the five Equalists and quickly knocked them over the side of the ring with one of my kicks. I then slashed out my hand horizontally and a brilliant flame arrow left my fingertips and hit an unsuspecting Equalists square in the back. The impact sent him flying forward and he hit the ground hard, leaving him unable to fight. I watched Mako take on the three remaining Equalists. His firebending attacks were powerful. More powerful then I could have ever imagined. He was holding strong but was tiring fast. He turned around to face an Equalist behind him. He blew him off the platform in a great ball of heat and light. It was then that we locked eyes. At first they seemed to say thank you for helping me. Then I saw a spark of realization. It was if all his memories of living on the street had flooded back into his mind. It seemed that he remembered who I was. The sight of me had distracted him and an Equalist was coming up fast behind him. I threw a punch and a river of flame left my knuckles and hit the Equalist in the stomach, knocking him off balance. Mako quickly turned around and finished the Equalist off in one hit.

Without knowing, the Equalist that dodged all my attacks before made it onto the platform where Mako and I were. Mako was finishing off his final Equalist and I was in a defensive stance watching in case Mako needed some backup. Out of nowhere I felt sharp jabs all over my back and my arms went completely limp. I let out an "ah" sound at the impact of the jabs and quickly turned around to face the Equalist. I jumped up and kicked some fire out of my foot but the Equalist was a lot faster than I was and dodged to the side and did three quick jabs down the side of my leg. I could no longer hold myself up and I collapsed hard onto the ground. With my one leg still mobile, I tried in vain to shoot the Equalist with some fire blasts. He brought a metallic hand down onto my shoulder and electrocuted me. It felt as though hot flames were dancing upon all my nerve endings and I let out a terrible scream. Mako turned in the direction of my scream and a scared look came on his face. We locked eyes once again and my eyes said, _help me!_ My body was completely limp but I could still feel the pain of the electricity on every inch of my body. All I could do was helplessly look at Mako hoping that he would save me. Mako's expression changed within an instant. "Let her go!" he yelled, his face turning angry yet determined. He ran at the Equalist and shot some fire blasts at him that he easily dodged. He then paused and started to create lightning. The bolt grew and got brighter until it was time to unleash its fury. He lunged forward and pointed his two fingers directly at the Equalist. The bolt left his fingers but within seconds the Equalist had absorbed the bolt with his glove and shot it back at Mako. The Bolt struck the ground a few feet in front of him and caused a small explosion which sent Mako flying back. Mako flew back and hit a pole on the side of the platform rendering him unable to fight. He moaned in pain as blood dripped down his cheek from a gash on his temple.

The Equalists began to retreat, bringing with them the metalbending police officers that they had captured. I was lifted up and slung over the shoulder of the Equalist who had brought me down. The Equalists tried to collect as many benders as they could to give to Amon as tokens of their loyalty. Ropes dropped from the Equalist airship and one by one the Equalists and their captives were hoisted up to the ship. At that point I became so scared of the future. I knew this would be the end of my bending, the end of what made me so special. I was a green-eyed firebender! But without my firebending I'd just become a normal Earth Kingdom citizen.

I looked down at Mako as my captor was being raised up to the ship. Bolin and Korra had come to his side and were helping him up. He looked back at me and his eyes said it all. He was sorry he wasn't able to save me. A tear left my eye and fell down onto the platform. I think Mako, Korra, and Bolin noticed it since when I looked back at them they were still staring at me. The cable reached the airship and my captor stepped onto the ship. From there, the opening in the floor closed and my last glimpse of freedom and hope was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

"We-we have to go save her!" I groaned in pain while Korra and Bolin helped me off of the bending platform. "Save who?" Korra asked. "That girl!" I yelled. "She helped me fight off some Equalists and now it's my fault that she's going to get her bending taken away." I felt so guilty that I hadn't been able to save her. She had helped me out and I couldn't even return the favor. Her eyes screamed out for help and I tried to get her back but I failed. "Mako, don't beat yourself up. You did everything you could to try and save her. Sometimes you just have to accept defeat," Korra comforted. "I won't ever accept defeat when I know I could have done more." I hung my head in shame. "I need to go save her."

"Mako don't be ridiculous. We can't go and save her. We can't risk losing our bending to save one girl. You know that our ultimate goal is to stop Amon, not save everyone that he captures. If we did that we would get nowhere. Besides, we don't have time to go on a rescue mission," Korra said sternly. "Korra you don't understand. We _need_ to save her!" I said pleadingly. "Mako, do you only want to save her because she's a pretty girl?" my brother Bolin asked me. "Of course not Bolin! Don't you remember her?" "Umm… am I supposed to remember her? Do you know her name?" Bolin said confused.

"I don't know her name," I said dejectedly. "But you know her Bolin. She's the green-eyed firebender who was orphaned and lived on the streets like us. Remember when we lived on the streets we would see her almost every day? She's the one that foraged through the dumpsters for food and lived in that low branched tree in Republic City Park. She works at the pet store where you got Pabu."

"Now I know who you're talking about! That's why she looked so familiar! I remember her now! I remember everything!" exclaimed Bolin. "So this girl is your homeless friend?" Korra asked almost grossed out. "Not really a friend. We didn't know her personally but we knew of her," I explained. "She was always so quiet. Never really got into trouble, left places without a trace, lived a really minimal existence. It's as if she was a shadow. She was always there but you never paid any mind to her," Bolin recalled. "The only thing that made her stick out were her beautiful, fierce, mint green eyes. It's a rare sight to see a firebender with that eye color. But man, her green eyes really added to her beauty…" I trailed off while thinking about the girl's striking features.

"Added to who's beauty?" questioned my girlfriend Asami who was waiting in Bolin and I's apartment for us to return. "Ahh… No one sweetie. Just a person who lives on the streets," I answered back. "Well I'm so glad you're alright! I was so worried about you!" Asami came up to me and gently kissed my cheek with her perfectly smooth lips. I blushed a little, embarrassed that she kissed me in front of Korra and Bolin. "Well let's get you fixed up in case there's another Equalist attack," said Korra.

I leaned on Bolin's and Korra's shoulders as they led me to my bed. I used them for support the whole way up to the apartment, which was located in one of the Pro-Bending Arena's attics. They laid me down gently on the bed and removed my shirt. Bolin left the room to fetch Korra some water so she could start to heal me. "Tell me where it hurts," she said. I pointed to a gash on my upper arm with a piece of jagged rock sticking out of the wound. I then pointed to a large bruise on my chest where a hefty rock had hit me. The explosion from the lighting had sent pieces of rock and twisted metal flying at me. I was hit multiple times by flying debris and was flown back into a pole.

Bolin returned with water, rags, and bandages. Korra quickly pulled the rock out of my arm with her earthbending. I winced and fought hard to hold back a scream. The wound started bleeding profusely and Korra instructed Bolin to place pressure on the gash with the rag. I made eye contact with Asami who was hovering over Korra making sure I was alright. She had a worried look on her face but I knew she trusted Korra to fix me up. Korra bended some water into her hands and pressed her hands over the bruise on my chest. The cool water glowed blue and I closed my eyes and relaxed as I felt Korra's healing ability at work on the pain. She worked on my chest for about five minutes, allowing the cool, soothing water to work at my injury. This also gave Bolin time to try and stop the bleeding in my arm. When the bleeding had lessened, Korra bended some fresh water up to my arm and began to work on the gash. I gasped at the intense stinging that the water had induced. I tried to breathe deeply in an attempt to reduce and forget about my pain but it didn't really work. Korra worked hard at the gash for ten long minutes, but eventually the wound closed.

We all had a long day and were feeling quite tired. We wanted to get to sleep so we could wake up refreshed in the morning and ready to take on Equalists if we had too. Before Korra and Asami left Bolin and me, I pleaded with Korra. "Korra, please, think about it. It would really mean a lot to me," I said as she walked out the door. "Fine. I'll think about it," she sighed. And with that she left and I fell into a light, restless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't know where I was. The second I got onto the airship my captor blindfolded me. The ride over to Amon's hideout was very awkward. The captured metalbenders and I were silent. We were all afraid to talk and we were still all paralyzed from the Equalists' chi-blocking capabilities. As far as I knew, we were all blindfolded and we had to rely on our ears to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, the Equalists all talked in fast, harsh whispers so I couldn't decipher what they were saying. Only Amon spoke clear as day. His voice bellowed throughout the cabin of the airship as he barked orders. His voice was confident and strong much like himself. It sent shivers down my spine.

By the time we arrived at what I assumed was Amon's hideout, most of us had regained our mobility. Still blindfolded, we were herded into what seemed like an old underground prison. I was separated from the metalbenders and put into my own cell. I was told to put my back on the wall and then drop to my knees. I did what I was told without hesitation. My captor then put shackles around my wrists and tightened the chains until my hands were above my head and attached to the wall. I tried to fight against the chains and wiggle free but it was useless. I was stuck there on my knees. My captor removed my blindfold without a word and left my cell.

A few minutes later I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and a cell door open up. I heard screams from the metalbenders and Amon's voice. "It's time to rid the world of you metalbenders!" I heard bodies drop to the floor and the cell door close. Moments later another cell door opened and another and another. Bodies were dropping to the floor and I heard sobs coming from the former metalbenders. My heart started to race and I heard the blood pulsing in my ears. He was coming and I was going to be his last victim of the night.

Amon opened my cell and stepped into it with the Equalist that had caught me. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? You certainly don't look like a metalbender," taunted Amon. I stayed silent but my eyes widened with fear as he walked closer and closer to me. "What are you girl? An earthbender wearing Fire Nation clothes?" Amon asked. I still kept my mouth shut. "Actually, sir, she's a firebender," replied Amon's loyal Equalist. "A green-eyed firebender. Well aren't you something special," Amon chuckled. He lifted his hand toward my face and I dropped my head in defeat knowing what would come next.

"I want this one present at our Equalist Rally tomorrow night," Amon said while lifting my chin so that he could stare into my mint green eyes. His stare was cold and frightening and his grip on my chin was tight. His eyes looked deep into mine and I felt as though I was unable to blink. His stare was strong and I sensed that I was put into a trance-like state. The eyes behind his mask looked like they were searching my soul and learning my secrets. It felt like I was being invaded. "I'm sure the crowd would _love_ to see a unique bender like yourself lose your precious ability," Amon said darkly. He dropped my chin and left my cell along with his follower. "I'll see you tomorrow night firebender."

I dropped my head and tears began to roll down my face. _This is hopeless, _I thought. _There's no way to escape. There's too many guards and I can't break away from these shackles. No one is coming to save me. No one even knows of my existence. And if they did I'm sure they would never find this place. I'm going to lose my bending in front of a crowd who doesn't know who I am, yet hates me for what I am. They'll be loving every minute of my suffering while I'll be praying to make the madness stop._ I stopped crying and let out a long sigh. _I might as well try to get some sleep. I'm going to need all my strength for tomorrow night. I'm going to have to fight for my bending at this rally. _I tried to get as comfortable as possible but there was no comfortable position in the shackles. I drifted off into a light sleep hoping and praying that maybe, just maybe, someone would come and rescue me.


	5. Chapter 5

I awoke to a pale morning sunlight that streamed in through a small window in my room. I slowly got out of bed, still sore from the previous night. _Last night feels like a blur. It almost feels like it never happened. Like it was a dream. _I changed into my usual attire, a gray tunic with red piping and black pants. I then wrapped my crimson scarf around my neck and walked over to the cracked mirror to fix my hair. I opened the door to my room and stepped out into the common area that contained a couch and a small stove.

Bolin was at the stove heating up leftovers for himself. Korra and Asami were on the couch talking silently to each other until they saw me emerge from my room. "It's about time you woke up," teased Korra. "Did I really sleep that late?" I questioned. "No sweetie. She's just teasing you. The morning is still young," comforted Asami while she walked over to me. She wrapped her arms around the back of my neck and I wrapped my arms around her waist pulling her closer to me. I closed my eyes and placed my lips upon hers, kissing her. She kissed me back, her silky lips intertwining with mine. After a few seconds, she pulled away leaving me wanting more.

"Ah-hem," Korra coughed. "I have news for you." Asami left my arms and took her seat back on the couch with Korra. "What news?" I asked hesitantly. "We're gonna go save you're homeless girlfriend," Korra said. My eyes lit up with joy. I never thought she would actually agree to save her. I thought I would have to go behind her back and save her myself. "What made you change your mind? And she's not my girlfriend!" I exclaimed and blushed. "I asked Tenzin last night what he thought I should do. He said I had valid points for not wanting to waste time and energy on saving this girl. But he also said that as the avatar, when people need me I shouldn't ignore their cries for help. Tenzin was right. This girl needs our help and Mako, you need my help to try and rescue her." I walked over to Korra and hugged her. "Thank you," I said with deep sincerity in my voice. "My news isn't over yet," Korra continued. "I have a lead on where your friend might be. This morning on my way over here, I passed by one of those Equalist town criers calling for all non-benders to rise up against us benders. I became annoyed at what he was saying and I earthbended him off of his platform. He dropped all the flyers he was holding and I collected a bunch." Korra handed me a flyer. "Equalist Rally tonight at 9. Witness Amon use his power to strip unique benders of their ability," I said aloud, reading the flyer. "And didn't you say before that this girl was a green-eyed firebender?" Korra asked. I nodded my head yes. "I'm thinking that Amon considers her a 'unique bender' so she'll probably be at this rally," Korra said. Bolin hopped into the conversation. "So then where do we find this rally?" he asked. "I thought you guys would never ask." Korra picked up four flyers and flipped them around so we saw what was printed on the back. She laid them out on the table and connected them like a puzzle. "A map!" I exclaimed and pointed to the dot that indicated where the rally would be. "There. That's where we need to go."

"Are we all in to do this?" I asked. Korra nodded her head in approval and Bolin threw his fist in the air and cheered. "Let's go save this firebender!" he exclaimed. I looked to Asami who had a distressed look on her face. "I… I can't do this tonight. I… um… uh… promised my dad that I would help him out with his new invention tonight," she said. "Come on Asami." I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "Can't you just tell your dad you'll help him out some other night?" She pulled away from my hand and stood up. "No. I can't Mako," she said sternly. "Some of us care more about our family members than saving some worthless homeless girl who you don't even know the name of!" Asami yelled. "I'm leaving. I'll see you guys around some other night," she said and stormed off. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked. "Don't worry about it Mako," answered Bolin. "Yeah Mako. You didn't say anything offensive in my eyes. You're a hero for wanting to save this girl," Korra smiled. "Thanks guys. I really appreciate the support."


	6. Chapter 6

I had been awake for hours in the cool, damp cell. During the night I had fallen in and out of sleep. I was uncomfortable, cold, and scared so sleep didn't come easy. The cell was underground so I had no clue what time it was. I guessed that it was around noon. I heard footsteps come down the hallway and Equalists talking. "I have orders from Amon. He says it's time to free the metalbenders. Release them at the usual drop off spot," an Equalist higher up said. "Yes sir!" Cell doors opened and I heard many footsteps leave down the hallway. It was dead silent for a few minutes after the metalbenders were removed. Once again I heard a person coming down the hallway. It was the Equalist that had captured me. He opened the door to my cell and stepped in.

"You know," he began saying, "Amon has given me much praise for capturing you. He says it was a great find. Amon loves taking the bending of unusual novelties quite like yourself. He was so proud of me for getting you that I've moved up in rank. I'm now one of Amon's trusted advisors! Me! I never thought that would happen." He kneeled down so that he was at my eye level. He took his hand and ran the back of his fingers along my cheek. I tried to move my head away from his hand but I couldn't move very far. "Look at those green eyes. They're beautiful. It's a shame that they're wasted on a bender like you."

At this, I became furious. I turned my head to face him and spit in his eye. "Uh! Disgusting! You'll regret that!" The Equalist stood up and took a step back. I looked at him triumphantly but my expression quickly changed. He brought his foot back and kicked me in the ribs as hard as he could. The wind was knocked out of me as his heavy boot collided with my body. I felt something pop and immediately started coughing uncontrollably and tried to catch my breath. He walked out of my cell and closed the barred door behind him. "That'll teach you not to mess with me."

I sat there on my knees coughing up thick, red blobs of blood onto the floor. I winced with each breath as searing pain shot through my chest cavity each time it rose with my breathing. My breaths became shallow and short as I tried to minimize the pain. _I'm in no condition to fight now. I'll never escape. Who am I trying to fool? I was never going to escape in the first place._

A few hours later a group of Equalists entered my cell and blindfolded me. They released me from the wall but tied my hands tightly around my back. They escorted me out of the underground jail and across the street to what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. The walk over was brutal. I walked hunched over because that was the position that my injury felt most comfortable in. I tried to walk slowly but the Equalists kept pushing me to go faster. Each step I took sent pain radiating through my torso. As we entered the warehouse, I heard the cheers and chants of hundreds of people. The Equalists led me up a couple of steps and onto a wood platform. They pushed me onto my knees and tied my hands to a pole behind me. They removed my blindfold and tied it around my mouth instead so that I couldn't talk. They then walked off the platform.

Bright lights shined down on the stage and I was blinded by their intensity. I could barely see the massive crowd that lay before me. They were all chanting and cheering Amon's name while others booed me and the two benders that were to my right, also tied to poles. There was a metalbender next to me and the person on the other side of the metalbender was claimed to be a bloodbender. They were both men and both were at least fifteen years older than I was.

Soon Amon walked onto the stage and the crowd erupted in cheers. "Brothers! Sisters! Welcome! I have a great show planned for you tonight! I have here for you a bloodbender, a metalbender, and a green-eyed firebender!" roared Amon. The crowd booed at us benders. "I will rid the world of these unusual individuals tonight so that you may be free of their tyranny!" The crowd cheered even louder than before. "I'm sure all of you in the crowd know the deal. One at a time, each bender will be released so that he or she will get the chance to take me down and save their bending. Are you ready?" The crowd cheered yes and so the rally had begun.


	7. Chapter 7

"Invitation please," commanded the guard outside of the back door to the rally. "Uh… invitation? Do you mean this?" I handed him the Equalist flyer. He nodded his head yes and opened the door for me. I walked inside and was led down a long, dark hallway by an Equalist. He opened up another door and motioned for me to walk through it. I entered a large room filled with hundreds of cheering Equalist supporters. _Well, here it goes. Hopefully no one will recognize me, _I thought. I pulled my ivy cap down further over my eyes and pulled my red scarf up to my nose. Amon had just walked onto the stage and was talking to the crowd. I gently pushed pass people in the audience as I worked my way closer and closer to the stage.

In order for the plan to work, I would need to get as close to the stage as possible. While Amon is playing with the other two benders, Korra and Bolin will try to find a way into the building. Once they're in the building and have scoped the place out a bit, they'll find a way to create a distraction. When Amon is ready to take on the girl, Korra and Bolin will start the distraction while I get onto the stage and lead the girl out of this place.

I got within a few rows of the stage and watched the madness unfold. I looked at the benders and sure enough there was our firebender. An Equalist untied the bloodbender and pushed him out into the center of the stage. The bloodbender quickly took a defensive stance and faced Amon. He lifted his hands and used his bending to stop Amon in his tracks. Amon froze for a few seconds but without any effort he broke free of the bender's control. The crowd cheered wildly as Amon continued his march toward the bender. "What?! How can you withstand my bloodbending?" questioned the bender. Amon stayed silent and quickly ran at the bender and jabbed at his pressure points causing him to collapse. Two Equalists appeared from the side of the stage and ran out to the bloodbender. They picked him up by his arms and placed him on his knees for Amon. Amon took one step forward and placed his thumb on the bloodbender's forehead. Within seconds, Amon released his thumb and the bender fell to the ground. The crowd roared as the two Equalists removed the bloodbender from the stage.

"Next up is the metalbender!" bellowed Amon. The metalbender was removed from the pole and was thrust onto the stage. The metalbender quickly got down to business and tried to defeat Amon. He was an officer for the chief of police so he had a long line on metal cable rolled on his back. He speedily whipped his cables at Amon but Amon dodged every attack. The metalbender tried hard to hit Amon but nothing was working. He then whipped his cable up and caught it on a support beam on the ceiling. The bender then began to move up the cable trying to escape from Amon. "It seems we have a coward here!" Amon exclaimed. Amon used all his power and jumped. He was able to grab the leg of the bender and pull himself up to the bender's soldiers. There, he jabbed the benders pressure points, causing him to release his cables from the ceiling and fall hard onto the stage below. The metalbender whined in pain as Amon stepped over to him and lifted him to his knees. The bender pleaded with Amon but it was to no avail. Amon placed his thumb on the bender's forehead and he collapsed on the stage unable to move. Once again the Equalists came out and removed incapacitated bender from the stage.

Amon turned and faced the crowd. "This is the moment you've all been waiting for. The finale," said Amon. The crowd cheered and screamed. They chanted Amon's name and cursed at the firebender. Two Equalists removed the cloth from her mouth and removed her hands from the pole. Her wrists were still tied behind her back as they led her to the front of the stage where Amon was. They handed her to Amon who griped her wrists tightly in one hand and the back of her neck in his other. She looked frightened out of her mind as Amon showed her off to the crowd. "I want to show all of you just how special this mutt is. She is a fierce firebender, yet she has the emerald-green eyes of an earthbender. Too bad that after her bending is gone she'll be nothing special," Amon said. I watched in pure agony as Amon untied her wrists and shoved her into the center of the stage. _Korra, Bolin, I hope you guys know what you're doing._


	8. Chapter 8

Amon pushed me out into the middle of the stage and I immediately took a few steps back and clutched my ribs. The pain I felt was paralyzing but I knew I had to fight. I threw some fire blast punches at Amon but he swiftly dodged them. Amon moved fast and tried making his way closer and closer to me. I did some spin kicks and shot out some flame arcs which knocked Amon off his feet. I took a step back and paused a minute to catch my breath. I went to go clutch my ribs again but was struck by something sharp. A small throwing knife was sticking into the area that had been kicked by the Equalist. _Amon must have noticed I was weak there. How could I be so stupid and let him see my weak point! _Amon had indeed thrown the knife. He was standing up now and had another knife ready to throw in his hand. When he saw me stagger backwards he put the other knife away and I swore I could see him smile behind his mask. Amon slowly walked toward me. With each step he took forward, I took one back. Eventually, my back was up against the wall at the rear of the stage. The crowd chanted," bring her down! Bring her down!" I felt the warm blood from my wound drip down my stomach. I was becoming lightheaded and it was becoming harder to breathe. Weakened, I dropped to my knees. Amon was standing in front of me by then. I threw one last punch at him but he grabbed my fist and jabbed my shoulder, making my arm go limp. I dropped my head in defeat but Amon picked it up so that he looked into my eyes. Tears began to stream down my face and Amon took note of this. "The poor bender is crying!" Amon said to the crowd. The crowd began booing and laughing at me. "Your time has come firebender," he whispered darkly to me. I closed my eyes and he placed his thumb on my forehead. Boom!

There was a loud explosion and steam began to fill the room. Amon removed his thumb from my head and my eyes flew open. He and his Equalists quickly ran in the direction of the explosion. Visibility quickly diminished as the steam crossed the stage. I didn't move at all, confused by what was happeneing. I saw a figure through the steam on the stage walking toward me. They emerged from the fogginess and to my surprise it was Mako.

He kneeled down and spoke quietly to me. "I've come to get you out of here." His soft amber eyes were fixed upon mine as he helped me to my feet. "Can you walk?" he asked. "I-I think I can," I replied. He led me through the steam, but I began to fall back. My injuries were causing me so much pain that I couldn't move very fast. "Come on! We need to move fast if we want to get out of here!" he whispered harshly while running back to get me. He noticed me wincing with each step I took. "This isn't good," he said while pointing behind me. I had left a trail of blood. Deep red blood spotted the floor to where we were. "I'm sorry if this hurts," Mako said. He put an arm on my back and leaned down at put his other arm behind my knees. He swooped me up off of my feet and into his arms. He carried me through a long, dark hallway with a bright light at the end of it. _Freedom, _I thought.

There was a loud thud behind us as an Equalist fell from the ceiling. Mako turned around and began shooting fire out his feet. The Equalist lost balance and fell to the ground. He then blocked off the hallway by shooting a fire stream at the floor and wall. The Equalist was trapped behind the flames and Mako ran as fast as he could out of there.

Mako looked down at me and saw how much pain I was in. Blood began to pool around the knife that was still stuck in my ribs. I moaned in pain as I applied pressure to the wound with my hand. The pressure made my old injury hurt even more. I looked to Mako for comfort and gave him a small grin. He smiled back but was determined to get out of the warehouse. "Don't worry girl. As soon as we're out of here my friend Korra will heal you," Mako comforted. "The avatar," I said. "Yup that's her."

We reached the end of the hallway and light from the street was pouring in through the open door. Mako stepped outside and there waiting for us was Korra and Bolin on Naga, Korra's polar bear dog. "Hurry up Mako!" shouted Korra. Mako walked up to Naga and handed me off to Bolin so that he could hop on the saddle. "Are we ready?" asked Korra. The brothers nodded yes. Korra lifted the reigns and signaled Naga to run off.

I was laid across Bolin's lap, one of his arms supporting my head while the other supported the back of my knees. I looked up at the muscular earthbender and we locked eyes. "Hello firebender, the name's Bolin. What's yours?" he asked in a suave voice. "Ayden. Very nice to me you Bolin," I said in a weak voice. "Ayden. What a gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl," Bolin said sincerely. "Th-Thank you," I blushed. Mako's head appeared over Bolin's shoulder. "Bo cut it out! She doesn't want you flirting with her right now!" Mako barked, a hint of jealously in his voice. "Don't listen to him. That's my brother Mako. He's got anger issues," Bolin whispered in my ear. "And I'm Korra," the avatar said as she turned her head around to look at me. "This is like a dream come true! I mean meeting you guys that is. I'm such a big Fire Ferrets fan," I said. Bolin flexed his muscles. "Well we are pretty cool. But I do have to say I love our fans. Especially our lady fans," Bolin said in a deep voice. I chuckled a shallow laugh and blushed once again. Korra also laughed at Bolin. "You know," said Bolin, "Mako's right. Your attractive eyes really do add to your natural beauty." I blushed and turned my head away from Mako. _Does he really think that? _"Bolin! I-I didn't say that!" defended Mako. "Ah, yes you did bro." Mako smacked the back of Bolin's head. "Ow!" Bolin rubbed the back of his head and gave Mako an angry glare. "We're almost to the apartment," Korra said. She raised the reigns and urged Naga to go faster. "How are you holding up Ayden?" Korra asked. "I'm perfectly fine," I coughed into my hand. I removed my hand from my mouth and both Bolin and Mako saw the red splatters that stained my palm. They both gave me worried looks and I tried to reassure them. "Guys, I really am fine. You don't have to worry about me!" I hated feeling like a burden to anyone. After all, for almost half of my life I had taken care of myself. I wasn't about to change that. "Korra, don't listen to her. She needs medical attention pronto," said Mako.

We arrived outside the Pro-bending Arena and Mako hopped off Naga. Bolin then passed me off to Mako so he could get off the large animal. Korra was the last to get off. She hugged Naga and praised her and told her to wait outside. Mako held me in his arms as we walked into the arena. "There's an apartment in here?" I asked. "Yeah. Once Bolin and I entered the pro-bending world we started earning enough money to rent an apartment. We moved off the streets and rented out one of the arena's attics to be our home," explained Mako. "Wow. That's amazing Mako," I said with sincerity. He blushed as he gazed into my eyes. Bolin led us up the stairs and into the apartment. "It's not that nice, but it's better than living on the streets," Mako whispered so that only I could hear. Bolin opened the door to Mako's room and we entered. Mako gently placed me on his bed and looked over my body with his amber eyes. His stare felt like it was burning my skin. I was so embarrassed by my terrible appearance but I suppose I couldn't help that given the recent chain of events. I guess I just felt disappointed that I didn't look as good as I wanted too in front of a handsome man like Mako. I brushed my thoughts aside as Korra walked in and took her place next to Mako. Korra breathed deeply. "Let's do this!"


End file.
